New York and Singapore have become the world’s most expensive cities to live in after rising inflation this year, an annual study showed on Dec. 1.
The two cities replaced Tel Aviv as number one in 2021, according to the London-based Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) global cost of living index, which dropped to third place in 2022.
The war in Ukraine and ongoing pandemic restrictions have disrupted supply chains, particularly for energy and food, as the cost of living in the world’s largest cities has risen, the study said.
With New York taking the top spot for the first time, Damascus and Tripoli continue to be the cheapest cities to live in.
Between August and September, prices in the 172 major cities covered by the study rose an average of 8.1 percent.
The study also noted the impact of the strengthening US dollar on their city rankings.
A total of 50,000 worldwide prices have been converted into dollars. The U.S. currency has rallied this year as the U.S. Federal Reserve raised interest rates by large amounts to control decades of rising inflation.
In addition to New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco rounded out the top ten.
The cities with the biggest jumps in the cost of living index were Moscow and St. Petersburg as prices rose amid Western sanctions and buoyant energy markets propped up the ruble. Moscow rose to 88th and St. Petersburg rose to 70th.
The ongoing war in Ukraine Western sanctions against Russia China’s no-covid policy is rising interest rates, These problems, combined with exchange rate fluctuations, have led to supply chain problems that have led to a global cost-of-living crisis, said Upasana Dutt, who led the study.
“We can clearly see the impact in this year’s index, with average prices in the 172 cities included in our study being the strongest we’ve seen in 20 years because we have digital data,” he added.
EIU is based in London and handles daily expenses in 172 cities around the world. The British city of London ranks 27th in the 2022 list.
Four European cities are among the 10 most expensive cities to live in. Among the four European cities, the Swiss city of Zurich (ranked sixth) is the highest city, followed by Paris (France), Copenhagen (Denmark); Geneva (Switzerland) respectively.
The sharp rise in commodity prices in Western Europe is due to rising gas prices. Such a rise in gas prices was caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine. Europe is trying to find gas elsewhere than Russia. The price of a liter of gasoline rose by 22 percent compared to last year.
In addition to rising gas prices, volatility in the value of the euro is driving up commodity prices.
